Sendero Ridge in Cordillera Ranch is a special kind of spectacular. Estate homes are set on picturesque 12-14 acre lots where privacy and proximity to nature are unparalleled, and homeowners enjoy a wildlife tax exemption to boot. In an area that boasts luxury homes of breathtaking design and impeccable build, this magnificent model is right at home.
By Julie Catalano :: Photography by LRes Marketing
Sleek and ultra-chic, 116 Sendero Ridge was built by premier luxury home builder Todd Glowka, CGB, CGMB, president of Todd Glowka Builder, Inc., in Kendalia. With decades of experience in luxury projects, along with being a Cordillera Ranch Preferred Builder, Glowka holds certifications from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as a certified Master Builder, certified Graduate Builder and certified Green Builder. The 4-bedroom, 4.5- bath, one-story house was designed by Oscar Flores, AIBD (American Institute of Building Designers), owner and president of Oscar E. Flores Design Studio LLC in San Antonio. The home is 8,470 square feet (covered) including 5,881 square feet (HVAC).
Exterior limestone is dry-stacked coupled with a light hand-troweled stucco. Steel and wood are juxtaposed strategically, says Glowka, for a distinctively Hill Country modern look capped with an aged bronze American-made Berridge standing seam metal roof. Architectural steel elements were blended with Ipe (“eepay”), “a phenomenal Brazilian hardwood,” says Glowka. The back porch, for example, has steel trellises and columns. “In a traditional house these would have been all wood.”
A minimalist landscaping scheme evokes a Zen garden-like ambience, with limestone pavers and stay-in-place lava rock blended with river rock, a vast improvement over mulch “that washes away and decomposes over time and becomes a maintenance issue,” says Glowka.
Inside, the first striking feature is the freestanding fireplace in the living area, constructed of buffed, dry-stacked Lueders limestone with a chimney chase wrapped in Vaal engineered red oak 3D wallboard. The same wall paneling system is used on the chimney face on the master suite fireplace.
The open floor plan of living/dining and spacious kitchen is ideal for entertaining or relaxing under soaring vaulted ceilings featuring massive Douglas fir timbers. Immaculate wood flooring throughout the house is European white oak from Germany that has been smoked, wire brushed and oiled, resembling reclaimed wood.
Warm woods are a perfect complement to the home’s abundant stone and glass. Michael Edwards Custom Cabinetry of San Antonio used alder in the bathrooms, poly-lacquered cabinets with a barn-wood look were used in the game room and more alder in the study built-ins with a catalyzed finish.
A professional appliance package consisting of Sub Zero/Wolf® are clad in beautiful maple cabinetry with ample storage that graces the 32 x 22-foot kitchen. Throughout the entire residence, Michael Edwards used their top-of-the-line “Signature Series” cabinets, featuring self-closing drawers and doors that come with an industry leading best 10-year warranty. The cabinets are topped with Quartzite countertops in the kitchen and game room bar and leathered marble in the bathrooms.
A sure-fire conversation piece is the 45-square-foot climate-controlled wine room near the game room, with a dramatic LED backlit onyx wall. The HVAC system has its own temperature probe that actually senses the temperature of the wine in the bottle selected to uncork and serve from.
Bathrooms rival anything in a luxury resort, with honed travertine floor tile and gorgeous leathered marble countertops. A tiled feature wall in the master bath has a freestanding tub on one side and shower on the other, reminiscent of an outdoor setting but enclosed for comfort and privacy while enjoying a garden view.
Smart as well as beautiful, the house has a Lutron lighting system that manages all of the interior and exterior lights in a controllable, programmable and dimmable system. In addition, a state-of-the-art Crestron AV system controls roughly 28 pairs of prewired speakers and seven cameras. For added security, the property is completely fenced and gated and the gated entrance is connected to the residence via fiber optics, which allow for the resident to not only talk to the guest entering but to also see their face on a TV, iPad or iPhone within the house, prior to granting access. The home features four zoned TRANE HVAC systems, complete with HEPA filters and UV lights.
Green features include wood clad windows with Cardinal® lowE glass and spray-in Bio-Foam wall insulation, a soybean-based product that includes a fire-retardant additive. Three tankless Instahot hot water heaters supply the home in zoned sections. The kitchen has two reverse osmosis spigots (“the purest form of filtration,” says Glowka) that extends to the ice maker and refrigerator, “so you’re getting the purest of the pure.” Additionally, Glowka used a commercial Hague water softener system for ultra water conditioning. The garage floors are also finished in an epoxy flake sealed finish.
Indoor/outdoor living reigns here, with beautifully unobstructed views of the pool and native live oaks, elms and cedar trees beyond, even from the main living area. “All of the windows and sliders at the back of the house sit at floor level to maximize the view,” Glowka explains. “We’re basically bringing the outside in.”
An east-facing back porch was essential in a central Texas climate. “That way the house has the proper sun orientation and we capture the prevailing summer breezes that will come up from the south and the east right up that back patio in the summer,” says Glowka. An outdoor kitchen and fireplace seating area bookend the long space at each end. Limestone slabs surround the pool by Artesian Pools of San Antonio. The hot tub and planters are clad in Ipe siding to match the house.
Glowka has been a Cordillera Ranch resident since 2005 and has high praise for the community. “We have such rocky soil here that it really helps to control foundation costs because engineers want to build on limestone rock,” he says. “I think Cordillera Ranch, with its setting and amenities, is the finest subdivision in the Hill Country by far and one of the finest in the state. There are a variety of lots to choose from, whether it’s a view lot, a golf course lot or an estate lot like this one.”
For Sendero Ridge to qualify for wildlife exemption and its substantial tax breaks, a biologist conducts annual game and deer surveys. Of his luxury custom builds, Glowka says, “We’re trying to preserve the natural setting as much as possible. When you’re out here you’re not looking at your neighbor’s house. You’re looking at Mother Nature.”
TODD GLOWKA BUILDER, INC.
Todd Glowka – President
O: 830.229.5565
F: 830.229.5569
www.tgbuilder.com
